Chapter One of Fieldworking - Subcultures

It is easier to define a subculture on someone else. I had to think of what subcultures I belong to. I do have a specific church I attend so that would be one subculture of mine. In this church group, we share specific rituals such as attending services every Saturday together in the morning. We usually have a potluck following the service. It is a standing joke that while officially we have a potluck only once a month and snacks on the other days; it is impossible to tell the difference because it usually is the same amount of food. We keep certain religious days together throughout the year and certain days that others might keep, we don't keep. We share a common behavior within our subculture with our dietary laws of not eating certain foods. In my church group, I could use acronyms for words such as FOT or DUB and anyone within the group would know what that stands for. If I mentioned Worldwide, other members would know that I was referring to the church's past history, not some global event. So this subculture can be quite well defined.

Another subculture I belong to is the auctiongoers group of people. This is not so well defined and a much more of a loose connection than the church group. There are certain understood rules that most abide by. You get there early to scope out what you are interested in. The same ritual is required to get a number so you can bid. It is understood that once you buy something, you are responsible for it, but almost all the people respect boundaries and don't touch what you have bought. You can make deals with what has been bought at the auction if the two parties are agreeable in both reselling and buying. Everyone knows that you have to be fast and don't wave or gesture during bidding if you don't want to buy something. Bring containers such as boxes and bring extra help to cart stuff out and to help bid when there are several rings going at the same time.

It is interesting to think in terms of subcultures because any group that we belong to can be a subculture even where we work, go to school and within our family.